India Moves Towards Water-Based Urban Transport with National Water Metro Policy 2026

India Moves Towards Water-Based Urban Transport with National Water Metro Policy 2026

Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has advanced its plan to introduce “Water Metro” services in 18 cities across India. Along with this initiative, the ministry has circulated the draft “National Water Metro Policy, 2026” for inter-ministerial and state-level consultations. The objective of the policy is to establish a national framework for water-based urban mobility and promote sustainable transportation systems in Indian cities.A Water Metro is an urban transport system that uses rivers, lakes, backwaters, and coastal waterways for public passenger transport. In India, this concept gained prominence through the Kochi Water Metro, which is regarded as the country’s first water metro service. The central government now plans to expand this model to several other cities.

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¨     Phase I cities include Guwahati, Srinagar, Patna, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Prayagraj, while Tezpur and Dibrugarh in Assam are proposed under Phase II.

¨     The initiative builds upon the operational success of the Kochi Water Metro and aims to transform inland waterways into efficient, eco-friendly, and integrated urban transport corridors.

Water Metro / Water Buses / Water Taxi

¨     A Water Metro is a mechanically propelled mass passenger transport system operating on inland, coastal, and other water bodies for the systematic movement of passengers and, where applicable, vehicles.

¨     It may operate across intra-city, inter-city, coastal, and inter-island corridors on rivers, canals, lakes, backwaters, estuaries, creeks, and coastal waters.

¨     Water Metro systems use modern vessels, floating jetties, automated fare systems, and passenger information systems to provide organised water-based urban transport services.

¨     Unlike conventional ferry services, Water Metro systems are designed as high-frequency urban mobility networks supporting daily commuting, tourism, recreation, and regional connectivity.

¨     The system provides a low-cost, low-emission, and congestion-free mobility alternative by leveraging existing waterways with minimal land acquisition requirements.

Key Features of Water Metro

¨     Green & Low-Emission Mobility: Promotes electric, battery-operated, solar-assisted, and hybrid ferries to reduce carbon emissions and fuel consumption, with hybrid vessels used for longer routes and difficult operational conditions.

¨     Mass Public Transport System: Functions as a scheduled public transport system for daily urban mobility while also supporting tourism and recreational activities.

¨     Standardisation & Safety: Ensures standardised vessel designs, charging systems, terminals, and navigational infrastructure in compliance with national maritime and inland vessel safety regulations.

¨     Multimodal Integration: Integrates Water Metro services with metro rail, buses, roads, feeder systems, pedestrian pathways, and last-mile connectivity infrastructure.

¨     Ecosystem-Based Development: Develops a comprehensive ecosystem including vessels, pontoons, jetties, charging and bunkering facilities, passenger terminals, navigational aids, digital systems, and emergency rescue support.

¨     Indigenous Manufacturing: Encourages vessel construction by Indian shipyards under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative through standardisation and bulk procurement to reduce costs and improve scalability.

¨     Flexible Funding Models: Supports implementation through joint Centre-State funding, State-funded projects, PPP models, and fully Central-funded projects for strategic National Waterway corridors.

¨     Urban & Climate Resilience: Improves connectivity to remote and water-locked regions, reduces urban congestion, and provides transport resilience during floods and infrastructure disruptions.

Draft National Water Metro Policy, 2026

¨     The Draft National Water Metro Policy, 2026, prepared by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW), seeks to establish a coordinated national framework for integrating inland waterways into India’s urban transport ecosystem.

¨     It aims to position Water Metro systems alongside other Mass Rapid Transit Systems (MRTS) such as metro rail, BRTS, and tramways to promote sustainable, multimodal, and low-emission urban mobility.

¨     Key Objectives: The policy promotes green propulsion technologies (electric and hybrid ferries), standardisation in vessel and terminal design, passenger safety, technical efficiency, affordable public transport, multimodal integration, and indigenous manufacturing.

¨     Planning Criteria: Water Metro projects will be prioritised in cities with continuous or semi-continuous navigable waterways, urban agglomerations with populations above one million, tourism-intensive corridors, and flood-prone or water-locked regions requiring improved connectivity.

¨     Operational & Infrastructure Components: The framework provides for modern terminals and floating jetties, passenger amenities, automated fare collection systems, passenger information systems, charging and bunkering infrastructure, GPS/AIS-based navigational aids, energy management systems, and backup power infrastructure.

¨     Ecosystem-Based Development Approach: The policy adopts an integrated ecosystem model covering vessels, pontoons, terminals, charging infrastructure, navigational systems, and seamless multimodal integration with existing transport networks.

¨     Fare & Revenue Framework: The policy emphasises affordable and inclusive public transport rather than profit maximisation, while encouraging non-fare revenue through advertising, retail spaces, waterfront commercial development, and tourism activities.

¨     Funding Models: Multiple implementation models are proposed, including joint Centre–State funding, fully State-funded projects, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), and fully Centre-funded initiatives.

¨     Performance Monitoring: Performance assessment will be based on indicators such as safety standards, punctuality, ridership levels, operational efficiency, fuel savings, and environmental outcomes.